pay it forward – modernmami™https://www.modernmami.com
Family Fun, Easy Recipes & Parenting Stories from Latina Working MomWed, 21 Feb 2018 00:20:35 +0000en-UShourly1https://i1.wp.com/www.modernmami.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/cropped-modernmami-favicon.png?fit=32%2C32&ssl=1pay it forward – modernmami™https://www.modernmami.com
3232Paying it Forward During the Holidays: Helping a Local Family Have a Brighter Christmas #ShowKindnesshttps://www.modernmami.com/life/paying-it-forward-during-holidays-christmas-showkindness/
https://www.modernmami.com/life/paying-it-forward-during-holidays-christmas-showkindness/#commentsWed, 18 Dec 2013 03:08:52 +0000https://www.modernmami.com/?p=8232This year my daughter proudly announced that her wish for Christmas was for everyone to have food, clothing, and shelter, and for Santa to provide needy children with toys for Christmas. I told her while it was certainly a wonderful sentiment and one I wish could come true, it was also a mighty big wish […]

This year my daughter proudly announced that her wish for Christmas was for everyone to have food, clothing, and shelter, and for Santa to provide needy children with toys for Christmas. I told her while it was certainly a wonderful sentiment and one I wish could come true, it was also a mighty big wish and a little hard to ensure that everyone that needed it could have food, clothing, and shelter – even for Santa to fulfill. However, I explained that sometimes little steps can be made to help out in the best way you can, so we decided to try our best to make a small dent and help a needy family this holiday season. We got additional help thanks to the generosity of Kohl’s who pitched in and provided us with a gift card to go shopping and pay it forward in whichever manner we deemed fit. Here’s how our experience in shopping for an adopted family for the holidays went.

After asking around, we found out there was a family in need of help this Christmas right at my daughter’s school. Many schools keep track of their families and try to help during the holidays and other special occasions, so if you’re ever looking to help, you may want to start at your children’s school! The school’s office provided us with general information (family size, ages, genders, clothing sizes) as to maintain the family’s privacy intact and said they appreciated anything we could provide. I asked for a wish list beyond clothing, but was only able to get the Rainbow Loom named as it seemed the two girls in the family hadn’t expressed much to the school secretary in their conversations. I did learn they were pretty excited about their soon-to-be-born baby sister, due any time around Christmas! I imagine that in and of itself will be a big Christmas gift for their family!

My daughter and I went shopping at Kohl’s and we were able to pick out two outfits for each of the two older girls, a jewelry box for each, a duct tape craft kit for each, a Monster High fashion design journal book, and a Kohl’s Cares Peanuts hardcover book. For the baby, we found a set of 4 bodysuits, two mix-and-match outfits, a pack of socks, and a rattle toy that can also attach to the car seat. Though I know that as a mom, you give anything and everything for your kids and go without for yourself, I thought it would be nice to get the mom a little something too, so we picked out a blouse for her and my daughter added a mini massager to go with it to help her relax a little. Since Kohl’s doesn’t sell a version of the Rainbow Loom, we purchased that separately at another store to be sure they received the one thing they had actually added to their wish list. I do hope this family likes everything we chose for them – I admit it’s hard to shop for someone you don’t know, but we definitely wanted to help make their Christmas a little brighter.

If you want to show a little kindness this holiday season and help pay it forward, you can do so at Kohl’s by purchasing some of their Kohl’s Cares merchandise. For just $5, you can buy hardcover books featuring Peanuts characters and classic stories, plus Peanuts plush toys, like Snoopy and Woodstock. You can also find a Peanuts jigsaw puzzle, the Holiday Cheer cookbook, and Upon the Winter Solstice, a holiday CD by the Trans-Siberian Orchestra. For each Kohl’s Cares purchase, Kohl’s donates 100% of the net profit to children’s health and education initiatives worldwide. Just think of how many books or plush toys you can purchase to donate to a local homeless, women’s shelter, or Toys for Tots box at just $5 each, plus 100% of those net profits will also be put to good use!

I was so proud that my daughter’s wish this holiday season was for others to have what she has every day. Though it would have been nice to have fulfilled her entire Christmas wish, I’m glad we were able to help at least one family and brighten their Christmas. I thank Kohl’s for helping us pay it forward this holiday season and allowing us to show kindness at a time when we can get caught up in the chaos of it all.

How are you paying it forward or showing kindness this holiday season? Share with us in the comments or join the social conversation using #ShowKindness on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram!

Disclosure: Kohl’s provided a gift card for purchasing donation items in order to Pay it Forward in my local community. No compensation received.

]]>https://www.modernmami.com/life/paying-it-forward-during-holidays-christmas-showkindness/feed/4Helping Central Florida Families for the Holidays with a Little Help from a Lot of Peoplehttps://www.modernmami.com/life/holiday-giving-central-florida-families/
https://www.modernmami.com/life/holiday-giving-central-florida-families/#commentsThu, 20 Dec 2012 23:03:08 +0000https://www.modernmami.com/?p=6088Source: Singh/Flickr I shared that this holiday season I was fortunate to work on two holiday charitable giving opportunities with the help of some really great brands that want to support local communities. You can read all about one of those opportunities where I was able to donate holiday gifts to the Harbor House, benefiting […]

I shared that this holiday season I was fortunate to work on two holiday charitable giving opportunities with the help of some really great brands that want to support local communities. You can read all about one of those opportunities where I was able to donate holiday gifts to the Harbor House, benefiting domestic violence victims. But, let me tell you about the second opportunity, a collaborative effort between myself and three other Orlando bloggers sparked by the outreach of Kohl’s that became a truly great experience.

A little back story first…Kohl’s reached out to me about a Pay It Forward effort in which they wanted to collaborate with bloggers to pay it forward in their local communities. Kohl’s was offering a gift card to shop at their store and give back to my community as I deemed fit, though they hoped deserving children would benefit, which is in-line with their overall charitable efforts. I immediately thought that instead of donating unwrapped items to a toy drive, it would be great if I could adopt a family and help them out this Christmas.

It’s funny how one thought leads to another, because soon after, my mind started racing with all the possibilities. I thought about reaching out to other brands I already work with to see if they wished to donate extra items for the family. I figured that perhaps I could go beyond the family’s wish list and provide them some extra holiday cheer. And then I wondered if this could become a larger effort and thought about how many more families could be helped if other bloggers joined the effort. If each blogger has their individual brand relationships and we each reached out to brands we know and love, just how much good could we do for Orlando families?

And that’s when it happened – Kohl’s generously agreed to provide three extra gift cards so that three more Orlando bloggers could pay it forward. One email from Kohl’s sparked a bigger idea and resulted in a wonderful holiday giving effort that ultimately helped four deserving Central Florida families! But, that was only the beginning! So many other brands jumped on board and helped the four of us (Lee Allport of mysentimentexactlee.com, Jen Burg of thesuburbanmom.com, Jessica Kirby of theunemployedmom.com and myself) to help these families. It was truly exceptional how they were all about helping our local community and made it happen – in some cases this even meant sending overnight packages to us so that we could meet our deadline for dropping off donations to the organizations.

With the help of several brands, plus the gift card money Kohl’s provided, we helped four families in total – two families were helped through Catholic Charities of Central Florida, another through the New Image Youth Center, and a fourth family came via a local public school. (By the way, I had no idea that schools identify children in need and try to find them help for the holidays and other occasions.) We were able to provide items from each family’s wish list, plus extras that came in through donations from various brands, such as food, books, health and beauty items, gift cards, and even local theme park tickets so that each family could have a fun day out! Looking over the family’s list of needs and wishes truly put a lot of things into perspective – one mom asked for kitchen towels as her wish for Christmas, and most had clothes on their lists. I am hopeful that each family will enjoy Christmas this year and only wish we could have helped out even more families.

It’s great to know that the connections and relationships developed over the last six years of being in the social media industry can be put to use for a greater good. First, local bloggers that I briefly knew from local events did not hesitate to participate and help. Secondly, brands were eager to help and came through in the most amazing way. For that, I can never thank them enough. I encourage you to give each of these brands some love, they truly deserve it!

Please also consider giving back to your community, if you’re able. This holiday season is a great way to begin paying it forward, but remember that families in need in your community need help year-round. I am sure local organizations can tell you how you can help best. If anything, you can help out right in your local Kohl’s store through their Kohl’s Cares program; a simple $5 purchase of books, plush toys, and other items means that Kohl’s donates 100% of net profits to children’s health and education programs. Just think, you can help out in two ways with such a purchase if you in turn donate the item you purchase!

Be sure to also check out the posts from the other ladies who helped Orlando families this holiday season! And for a peek at some of the brand donations, check out my Instagram pics.

Disclosure: Kohl’s provided a gift card for purchasing donation items in order to Pay it Forward in my local community. Additional donations were provided by each respective brand. No compensation received.